CENSUS RECORDS
1821.
1831.
1841.
1851.
1861 & 1871.
1901 & 1911.

Using the 1901 & 1911 Census Returns.

17th Century.

18th & 19th Century Census Substitutes.
 

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Census Records

Full government censuses were taken of the whole island in 1821, 1831, 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 1901, and 1911. The first four, for 1821, 1831, 1841, and 1851, were largely destroyed in 1922, in the fire at the Public Record Office; surviving fragments are detailed under the county source-lists. Those for 1861 1871 1881 and 1891 were completely destroyed earlier, by order of the government.

This means that the earliest surviving comprehensive returns are for 1901 and 1911. Because of this, the normal rule that census returns should not be available to the public for 100 years has been suspended in the Republic of Ireland, and the original returns can be consulted in the National Archives.

A full microfilm copy of the 1901 census is available at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Indexes, published or database, are available for the 1901 returns of some counties; these are noted under the relevant county. Copies of the 1901 returns for the six counties now in Northern Ireland are available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.